Employment Advice.

Resident

Resident

Resident

Soldato
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Hey guys,

This is on behalf of my partner. She has Fibromyalgia and 4 months ago she had an accident at work, she was using the disability facilities (support arm in toilet) and it tore off the wall, now she's not a big girl by any means and the bar should have more than supported her weight.

She started an injury claim as it was determined that the bar was not correctly fitted (missing a base-plate and was just screwed to wall).

The business chose not to fight and admitted liability a few days ago.

Today she has been into a disciplinary meeting because they have now decided that her condition is affecting her performance and they have threatened to suspend her as they do not believe she is fit to work.

Now she's been there a year, the company was aware of her condition at the point of hiring and for the last 10 months her performance stats haven't changed significantly over that time yet suddenly they're an issue.

I find it very coincidental that this comes days after the business admits fault and will be forced to pay compensation for her accident.

Is there anywhere she can turn for help/advice?
 
CAB - citizens advice bureau or the people who helped her with the claim I'm sure they'd love to hear about it.

Sounds like they might be trying to force her out due to the suit. If this is the case and her performance hasn't decreased they could get stuffed well and truly with another legal case.

Disgusting if it is as suspected :(.

After winning I guess she could retire :D.
 
It will be exceedingly difficult for the company to have even 1 little peg leg to stand on.

With the injury claim, due you believe your partner suffered any long term health issues or loss of earnings? I'm just a bit surprised that an accident like would warrant suing the company.
When an employee does make a claim against a company then they shouldn't expect to stay around long (not east the atmosphere would be horrible and your job made a misery). Sure, it is highly illegal for the employer to do fire someone like this but it will look extremely badly on the employee unless there is a airy obvious gross safety issue, neglect etc. In this case it seems like a metal hand rail wasn't attached as strong as it should have been, due you think that is really the companies fault, did they know about it before hand and do nothing about it?
 
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D.P. said:
With the injury claim, due you believe your partner suffered any long term health issues or loss of earnings? I'm just a bit surprised that an accident like would warrant suing the company.
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She tried to get things sorted in-house as it were and management at the centre she's at were unwilling to discuss it beyond filling out the accident log. She was off several days due to the injuries sustained of which went unpaid other than SSP.


D.P. said:
In this case it seems like a metal hand rail wasn't attached as strong as it should have been, due you think that is really the companies fault, did they know about it before hand and do nothing about it?
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All fixtures and fittings are completed by in-house maintainence including disability fixtures. The manufacturer of the device has confirmed that looking at the photos taken there is a part missing from the installation, a base plate. They state the instructions for installation are explicit in the fact that the base plate MUST be installed.
 
If I understand her condition correctly she feels pain much more than a "normal" person. As such a fall that some may have shaken off could conceivably be much more painful for her :(.
 
Mynight said:
If I understand her condition correctly she feels pain much more than a "normal" person. As such a fall that some may have shaken off could conceivably be much more painful for her :(.
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That's an extremely simplitic version but yes. Sufferers also can lose motor control of muscle groups, which she loses control of her legs so she has a power-chair to get about, hence needing to use the bar as she was transferring herself from the loo to the chair.

With pain aspect its much more complex. Even a moderate breeze on a "bad" day can cause her severe pain. So having badly bruised ribs will have been excrutiating.

She's on daily doses of Tramadol and Oramorph for the pain atm.
 
Sorry I didn't mean to simplify it that much. I only have a really basic understanding from third hand accounts. No offence intended my apologies.
 
Resident said:
That's an extremely simplitic version but yes. Sufferers also can lose motor control of muscle groups, which she loses control of her legs so she has a power-chair to get about, hence needing to use the bar as she was transferring herself from the loo to the chair.

With pain aspect its much more complex. Even a moderate breeze on a "bad" day can cause her severe pain. So having badly bruised ribs will have been excrutiating.

She's on daily doses of Tramadol and Oramorph for the pain atm.
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While i cannot offer advice about the legal situation i can offer my apologies about the lack of respect and understanding that her employers have shown. There should be something that can be done about this.

In regards to her condition she must be a strong woman to cope with such pain as you mentioned even a breeze could be painful, yet she still works for that company, they should show some respect.

I hope there are many good days and no bad days to come.

All the best

Harry
 
Mynight said:
Sorry I didn't mean to simplify it that much. I only have a really basic understanding from third hand accounts. No offence intended my apologies.
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Don't worry about it. I live with her and I still don't fully understand. I've just learnt the telltale signs of when she hurts.

harry5522 said:
While i cannot offer advice about the legal situation i can offer my apologies about the lack of respect and understanding that her employers have shown. There should be something that can be done about this.

In regards to her condition she must be a strong woman to cope with such pain as you mentioned even a breeze could be painful, yet she still works for that company, they should show some respect.

I hope there are many good days and no bad days to come.

All the best

Harry
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Thanks, she's a very independant & strong woman. We moved house recently and she spent most of the time out of her chair to help despite being told not to, however realistically I never expected her to just sit there given how she is. She's determined that it will not win over her having a normal as possible life. We've recently discussed starting a family. . . .
 
Resident said:
She tried to get things sorted in-house as it were and management at the centre she's at were unwilling to discuss it beyond filling out the accident log. She was off several days due to the injuries sustained of which went unpaid other than SSP.




All fixtures and fittings are completed by in-house maintainence including disability fixtures. The manufacturer of the device has confirmed that looking at the photos taken there is a part missing from the installation, a base plate. They state the instructions for installation are explicit in the fact that the base plate MUST be installed.
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OK, fair enough.. take them to the gutters!

the company should have been much more apologetic and certainly paid her for her time off recovering. Pretty disgraceful.
 
They're over a barrel. Without perfectly documented statistics to show a dip in her performance, they might as well spread 'em and wait for the big, girthy rod of Constructive Dismissal to penetrate.
 
Resident said:
We moved house recently and she spent most of the time out of her chair to help despite being told not to, however realistically I never expected her to just sit there given how she is She's determined that it will not win over her having a normal as possible life.

We've recently discussed starting a family. . . .
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That's great man! Good that she lives life how she wants to live it. As should everyone in any predicament/ or just people who feel they have to live how other people tell them to. Not how we roll.

Family! Big step, you thinking of one or more?




EDIT : Pestilence above me just said "They might as well spread 'em and wait for the big, girthy rod of Constructive Dismissal to penetrate." And i am creasing at it
 
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Pestilence said:
They're over a barrel. Without perfectly documented statistics to show a dip in her performance, they might as well spread 'em and wait for the big, girthy rod of Constructive Dismissal to penetrate.
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Unfortunately, I doubt that any claim for unfair dismissal would succeed since the rules (or law) were changed so that you can only claim unfair dismissal if you've been employed at the specific company for two years or more and that came into effect on April 6 2012 so the OP's partner would have started employment after that meaning that there wouldn't be a single leg to be stood on and the company would get out of it scot free.
 
demonix said:
Unfortunately, I doubt that any claim for unfair dismissal would succeed since the rules (or law) were changed so that you can only claim unfair dismissal if you've been employed at the specific company for two years or more and that came into effect on April 6 2012 so the OP's partner would have started employment after that meaning that there wouldn't be a single leg to be stood on and the company would get out of it scot free.
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AFAIK there may be different rules if it relates to things like disability, race, sexuality etc..

Prob best the OP speaks to an employment lawyer... I also understand that the usual caps/limits don't necessarily apply when things like race or disability is involved too... It is very silly for an employer to act vindictively towards someone like that.
 
demonix said:
Unfortunately, I doubt that any claim for unfair dismissal would succeed since the rules (or law) were changed so that you can only claim unfair dismissal if you've been employed at the specific company for two years or more and that came into effect on April 6 2012 so the OP's partner would have started employment after that meaning that there wouldn't be a single leg to be stood on and the company would get out of it scot free.
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True that the rules were changed, but if it is related to disability, race and stuff like that then there is no limit and it is always illegal.

In this case I would be assuming given the circumstances that the OP's partner would be claiming that it was related to disability and the accident hence they can probably claim.

That said unless the company cut corners with the installation I would have thought that the company that installed it were liable for the injury claim not the company the OP's partner worked for. At least my understanding is that under the tort of negligance that liability is about reasonable knowledge etc. Therefore if the company didn't reasonably know of the problem then they probably aren't liable.

But I'm not a lawyer so could be completely wrong.
 
demonix said:
Unfortunately, I doubt that any claim for unfair dismissal would succeed since the rules (or law) were changed so that you can only claim unfair dismissal if you've been employed at the specific company for two years or more and that came into effect on April 6 2012 so the OP's partner would have started employment after that meaning that there wouldn't be a single leg to be stood on and the company would get out of it scot free.
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Which excludes certain grounds which are automatically unfair.

The Equality Act covers those with protected characteristics from your first day in the job. You can still be dismissed, but it must not be for having a protected characteristic unless reasonable adjustments have been attempted.

Capability is an acceptable reason for dismissal but you need to have records showing the problem and if the lack of capability is associated with the disability then the employer must have made reasonable adjustments (the bar for "reasonable" is really quite high IMHO). Until the two year mark, you don't have to bother with performance improvement etc.

Employer is trying to get rid of a "problem" employee (from their perspective). Employer is about to learn of equal rights the hard, expensive way.
 
I hope the company she works for have had clear legal advice and your partners employers have copies of any appraisals and\or supervisions which have been signed by your your partner. The previously mentioned forms need to clearly show a drop in your wife's performance.

If she had a recent drop in performance it may be because of the injuries she sustained as part of the accident.
 
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